In order to train and/or control an animal, numerous collar mounted stimulation devices have been developed and marketed throughout the pet industry. The large majority of such conventional devices have typically been grouped together under the general category of dog training systems. The conventional stimulation devices deliver stimulation to the animal in the form of shock, sound, vibration, spray, etc., to correct any of a variety of behaviors. Such stimulation devices are typically controlled by a variety of methods such as auto activation based on feedback picked up from the animal by sensors in the collar mounted device, manual control provided by a wireless link between the collar mounted device and a remote handheld unit, or a combination of both.
In addition to the need to train or control an animal's behavior, there is also a need to track an animal's location and movement in real time. As discussed in regard to the animal training systems, a great deal of the development and marketing of animal tracking in the pet industry has been in the field of dog location systems. Dog location systems can typically be divided into three technologies; telemetry based, GNSS (Global Network Satellite Systems)/telemetry based, and GNSS/cell phone based.
Regardless of the stimulation system used, or the tracking technology used, it is common for a user to want to use an animal training system in conjunction with an animal tracking system for the same animal. However, conventional animal training and tracking systems typically require the user to employ two separate systems for the same animal, one system to provide the animal training, i.e., the stimulus, and another system to provide the animal tracking. Each of these systems operate independently and requires its own control device, such as two separate dedicated wireless remote handheld control units.
Due to the amount of space and time needed to mount two separate systems to an animal, and the complexity of having to manage two control devices, such as two remote handheld controls, there is a burden on the user that has to use both systems. As such, there would be a benefit in combining both the animal tracking and training systems in order to simplify the mounting of the two systems on an animal, and also simplifying the use of the control devices such that the user is not required to use two remote handheld control units.